A new criterion for comfort assessment of in-wheel motor electric vehicles

Abstract

A novel optimization technique was implemented to investigate the effects of vibrations on comfort of occupants to maintain oscillations in an acceptable zone in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization 2631 standard. In this regard, a newly introduced comfort indicator was defined as discomfort criterion (DiC). The effectiveness of the proposed measure was investigated throughout the suspension optimization of an in-wheel motor electric vehicle which almost doubled the unsprung mass by adding an electric motor to the wheel assembly. First, a spatial oscillatory model of the electric vehicle with eight degrees of freedom was developed, and the linear quadratic regulator control scheme is selected to control an actuator in an active suspension. Road excitations were then generated by applying the power spectral density of road class B–C provided by the International Organization for Standardization 8608 standard. The exceedance from the reduced comfort limit (in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization 2631 standard) and wheel travel (WT) of the vehicle were considered as design objectives. Finally, using a novel optimization procedure, the optimum condition and impact factor of the design variables, as well as counterplots of the design objectives with respect to the effective design parameters, were extracted and analyzed. Results proved the proposed indicator, that is, discomfort criterion (DiC) as a reliable measure to assess suspension systems’ performance effectively.